We've Invaded Maine!

We left Boston at 8:30 this morning. It was raining when we left, raining when we got to Salem, raining as we drove the 20 or 30 minutes it took us to get through New Hampshire, and raining and blowing even more when we stopped so that a few of us could get off the bus and take pictures of ourselves at the Nubble Lighthouse. If we hadn't made that stop we might have been in Portland, Maine ahead of whatever accident slowed traffic to a crawl. As it was, we were delayed by about an hour and a half.

During the drive the tour director told us we needed to stop at the desk and make dinner reservations as soon as we walked into the inn. He said that those in the front of the bus would probably get whatever time they wanted, while those further back would probably not. We were a few rows from the back. Always thinking about our next meal, we pulled out a cell phone, googled the Harraseeket Inn and dialed the number. We asked for a 7:00 reservation and the person we talked to confirmed it, but laughed as she said people generally checked in before they made their reservation. We finally got to the inn about 6:00, just in time to go to our lovely rooms and freshen up.

We got downstairs about ten minutes early, so we went to the bar where we enjoyed a glass of Gritty's Seasonal Ale, a nice dark, very flavorful beer. At 7 we were ushered into the Maine Dining Room and had an absolutely wonderful meal.

We ordered and shared two appetizers, Roasted Vegetable Turrine and Crispy Quail. Of course, there was a basket of wonderful freshly baked bread with an excellent airy butter to spread on it. We ordered a nice bottle of New Zealand white wine and waited very patiently for our entered. Wanda, Carole and I had fresh steamed lobster that just melted in our mouths. The accompanying vegetables were really good, too, but omigod...the lobster was superb! Dee ordered a filet mignon which she said was excellent. As if that wasn't enough, we decided to finish the meal properly and ordered Strawberry Crepes for two and also Chocolate Overdose for two. Both of those desserts are flambéed and prepared at the table. Oh my stars, it was incredible! We really thought it would be one plate of each dessert that we would all share...but, nooooo...there were two plates of each.

And, almost better than the food was how much we laughed! It was a fantastic meal, made all the better by the company and the surroundings. What a wonderful memory to pull out and savor!